Erinn McGuire/Bluffton Today Shauntel Green of Bluffton volunteered her disc jockeying skills during Saturday's back-to-school fun day. She said she regularly DJs family reunions and parties.

Erinn McGuire/Bluffton Today Kevin Wilder of Rincon, Ga., gets eye to eye with Ranger Jorge, 4, of Effingham County, Ga., during a judo lesson during Saturday's back-to-school fun day at the Sam Bennett Complex in Bluffton.

Erinn McGuire/Bluffton Today Bluffton Town Councilwoman Allyne Mitchell reads off the winning numbers during a raffle drawing on Saturday afternoon. Gift cards and backbacks were some of items handed out.

Erinn McGuire/Bluffton Today Avery Beaumont, 12, draws on an animal balloon. She stayed busy Saturday making the silly balloons for scores of children.

Erinn McGuire/Bluffton Today Sahailia Jenkins, 5, will be a kindergartener come Monday when she attends school at Red Cedar Elementary School, but on Saturday she jumped for joy during a back-to-school fun day.

Summer has come to an end for school kids, but that dosen’t mean the fun has.

With the first day of school less than 48 hours away, children of all ages had one last hurrah Saturday at the Sam Bennett Sports Complex for a back-to-school fun day, filled with Italian ices, waterslides, dunking booths, music, and hamburgers and hot dogs. Complimentary school supplies were given out and some raffle ticket holders walked away with backpacks, WalMart gift cards and other goodies to ease into the new school year.

The Bluffton Eagles Action Committee hosted the event as a way to give back to the community for all the support shown to the baseball teams, according to organizers.

Four area churches, 17 businesses and eight individual families donated either money, supplies or time to back-to-school fun day.

“I think it has had a pretty good turnout and we hope to make this an annual event,” said Sharon Brown, the force behind Saturday’s event.

Brandon Frantz, 8, thought Saturday was pretty fun.

He was particularly impressed with the firefighters. The Bluffton Township Fire District and Bluffton Police Department had representatives on hand to answer questions and entertain the little ones.

“I like the firefighters the best,” said Brandon. “I just like everything about them.”

He wore a plastic fireman’s hat and was never too far from the shiny fire truck, even to stand in line for a chance to dunk one of a handful of Bluffton High School JROTC cadets.

Behind the fire truck, Michael McClendon of Hilton Head Judo Kombat Club gave impromptu lessons.

“It’s a great way to open up your minds and to stay in shape,” he told a line of fidgety kids. After practicing the sport for 40 years, McClendon said he wanted to participate in Saturday’s fun day as a way to introduce grappling and other self-defense moves in hopes of planting a seed of interest.

“It’s the second largest sport in the world, and some of these kids have never even heard of it,” he said.

Across the sports complex, Victor Smith, a volunteer with CrossPoint Church, handed out free snow cones to hot visitors.

“This is a lot of fun and anytime you’re able to get in front of this many kids, it’s a win-win situation,” Smith said. “They see you out here and you can share the gospel and can lead by example.”

Brown, a Buck Island Road resident and Bluffton High School Principal’s secretary, said she gave out 120 bags with school supplies to students.

“This is really a chance to show the kids that the community supports them,” she said. “It gives them a chance to have fun before having to be in a more structured environment.”